New jobs created as paint business expands

Portadown-based Industrial Paint Solutions Ltd (IPS) has recently created eight new jobs with the opening of a new 30,000 sq ft facility.

A further six jobs will be created over the next year in an investment partly supported by a substantial loan from Danske Bank.

Richard Graham, Managing Director of IPS commented: “Over the past number of years, the business has gone from strength to strength, and we have been able to break into new markets.

“Our work in the industrial sector – mainly repairing and painting forklift parts - makes up over 50% of our business, and our new powder-coating section already generates approximately 10% of our business.

“We also store forklift parts, an operation which has created additional revenue for the business.

“We originally worked from rented properties, but lack of space caused a bottleneck in our production.

“Our new facility means that we now have all our operations under one roof, including at present a three acre site, with room for further expansion.

“We are one of the market leaders as none of our competitors are local; neither would have the same size of operation that we have. Therefore our customers benefit from lower transport costs and production times.”

Looking ahead, Mr Graham said: “Over the next 12 months we intend to grow with the market, and we have plans to expand the powder-coating section of our business, which is becoming increasingly popular.

“To provide for this, we will need to take on a further six staff in order to keep up with demand.”

The business was set up in 2007 and currently employs 26 staff. The company carries out paint and repair work for clients in a number of sectors including automotive, industrial and construction.

IPS has undertaken work on behalf of customers in countries such as USA, China, India, Germany, Holland and Sweden.

Ellen Matthews, Business Banking Manager, Danske Bank, commented: “Richard and his team have identified a number of lucrative markets and ways to diversify the business into other sectors. This new facility means the company has further room to grow the business, and continues to be a market leader in industrial and vehicle finishing and coating.”